COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The sale of fireworks began Friday to kick off summer festivities such as the Fourth of July.
With the holiday right around the corner, parts of the Brazos Valley are hoping for some rain to lift the burn bans in neighboring counties.
They say the grass is greener on the other side.
In the Brazos Valley, it’s not so green right now- considering the hotter than usual weather.
With little rain, that could be a recipe for a wildfire.
“Most of the Brazos Valley area is under an emerging drought," said Walter Flocke with The Texas A&M Forest Service. “We are seeing conditions that are more like what we typically see at the end of summer in late July and into August.”
According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, over 93% of Texas is in drought currently.
With conditions like this, it’s important to go into the holiday being even more cautious.
“Everybody wants to get out and recreate and that’s great, but this year with those drought conditions, you just need to take extra precautions. If you do buy fireworks, then you need to have a water source on hand or a fire extinguisher ready to go,” said Flocke.
As many are ready to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday with fireworks, Bennie Johnson says despite this drought he and his family will still celebrate, but responsibly.
“On the safety side, people make different decisions,” said Johnson. “For my personal opinion, I’m still going to pop them, but be safe at the same time.”
Despite counties like Burleson issuing a 90-day ban on outdoor burning, Kimberly Garcia of the American Fireworks Stand doesn’t foresee this drought lasting all the way to the Fourth of July.
“We always start off really dry, but the closer the Fourth of July comes, the more rain we get,” she said. “I don’t really think it would be an issue, especially for Brazos County. That’s usually what I see, so I don’t see it affecting sales at all.”